 We have overscheduled our lives,
writes Bill Quain, author of Time
Poverty – How to Achieve More by
Working Less. We’re exhausted,
stressed out, and dread another
day, another month, another year
of our frenzied existence. Yet,
he adds, we’re part of the most
productive, most efficient workforce
that ever inhabited this planet. We have technology at our fingertips,
convenience foods to prepare, entertainment in our living rooms,
and 24-hour access to the world via the World Wide Web. We are
doing everything at the speed of light. We have voicemail, e-mail,
instant messaging and downloadable movies. We don’t have to wait for
anything. (Nor, I add, are we willing to.)
Honoré writes of his elation at discovering, The One Minute Bedtime
Story, a book of condensed classic fairy tales compiled for time-pressed
parents to quickly and efficiently dispense the nightly bedtime ritual
of reading to their children. He admits feeling guilt in retrospect, and
tells of the deep soul-searching it triggered as he began to contemplate
where his time-driven life was taking him.
More and more people are arriving at the same soul-searching and
deciding it’s time for a change. That change might come in the form of
downshifting, making a conscious decision to live a simpler life. It may
mean saying no to extra hours at work, or accepting a position with less
responsibility, changing jobs to reduce a long commute, or even finding
lower paying but more rewarding work.
The first International Downshifting Week was held in April of this
year. Its organizers offered a simple action plan for those new to the
concept: plant something in the garden to cultivate and eat; eliminate
three non-essential purchases; cut up a credit card and focus on living
within your means; book a half-day holiday from work to spend
entirely with the one you love; cook a simple meal using fresh, locally sourced
ingredients and enjoy it together at the table; and tonight turn
off the television, turn on the radio, play a few games and talk.
 “Seachange” and “treechange” are terms that are now in the
vernacular describing a growing trend of individuals abandoning fastpaced
city living to take up residence in more leisurely seaside villages
or rural areas. It is predicted an estimated one million Australians
alone will make such a move over the next three years.
Before pulling up roots and relocating, though, it might be advisable
to start…well, slow. More people are pausing to take a deep breath and
learning to connect with the inner self. Through mindful awareness
and regular meditation they are learning to be in the present moment,
rather than constantly focusing on what’s happening next, tomorrow
or next year. Jon Kabat-Zin, professor emeritus at the University of
Massachusetts says, “Mindfulness is a certain way of paying attention
that is healing, that is restorative, that is reminding you of who you
actually are so that you don’t wind up getting entrained into being a
human doing rather than a human being.”
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